[ad_1]
(Want to receive this newsletter in your inbox? Here is registration.)
Have a good evening. Here is the last Wednesday at the end of the day.
The initiative puts the bloc at the forefront of global efforts to achieve the goal of a carbon neutral economy by 2050. But this is only the start of what will be a deadly two-year negotiation between the industry, 27 countries and the European Parliament.
In South America, Parts of the Amazon rainforest now emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb, according to a new study.
2. Overseas data suggests that the spread of the Delta variant will put vaccinated and unvaccinated communities on very different paths.
Contagious variant accounts for more than half of new coronavirus infections in the United States Due to the extremely uneven protection model, cases are increasing rapidly in counties where less than 30% of residents have been fully vaccinated, and in states with low vaccination rates like Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Nevada. The curves have also started to move upward in New York City.
Even in places like Britain, where large swathes of the population are immune, the Delta variant has outstripped vaccination efforts. But scientists say Americans are unlikely to revisit the horrors of last winter or need booster doses in the foreseeable future.
3. As Covid raged, the country’s other epidemic did the same: Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30% in 2020 to a record 93,000, the largest increase in a single year.
Deaths, reported by the CDC, have increased in all but two states, South Dakota and New Hampshire, with pronounced increases in the South and West. Among the grim records: the highest number of deaths from overdose of stimulants like methamphetamine and the highest number of deaths from synthetic opioids known as fentanyls.
With the disruption of outreach and treatment facilities, as well as increased isolation, the pandemic has been a key factor. But health experts said it was a continuation of a prepandemic pattern of escalating deaths. “It’s huge, it’s historic, it’s unheard of,” said a professor of medicine.
4. President Biden and Senate Democrats pledged to pass a $ 3.5 trillion budget plan it would represent a transformative expansion of social and environmental programs.
So begins their arduous effort to expand the reach of public education and health care, tax the rich, and stem global warming. Over a Senate luncheon, Biden rallied lawmakers, needing each of them to step forward over the United Republican opposition. Critical moderates have yet to engage.
Democrats hope to pass both the budget plan and a narrower bipartisan infrastructure plan before the chamber leaves for the August recess. A final vote would be months away.
Separately, Senator Chuck Schumer proposed a bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and begin to regulate and tax it.
5. This man has not been able to speak since he was paralyzed in 2003. A scientific milestone allowed him to utter his recognizable first sentence: “My family is out.
Electrodes implanted in his brain transmit signals to a computer which displays them on the screen, allowing him to produce words and sentences just by trying to pronounce them. The technology, developed by the University of California at San Francisco, could potentially help many patients with conditions that rob them of the ability to speak.
In interviews spanning several weeks, Pancho – his nickname by which he is known – communicated with our reporter through email exchanges using a head-controlled mouse. It is “a life changing experience,” he said.
6. Former Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar Continued Sexually Abuse Patients while the FBI did not respond urgently, according to a federal report.
Field office officials at the Indianapolis office “made many fundamental errors in responding” to the allegations, the Justice Department’s Inspector General found in a long-awaited report, which also stated that the officer Specialist in charge of the Indianapolis field office had lied. at the Inspector General’s office on several occasions.
The report found that the former U.S. National Gymnastics Team and Michigan State Athletic Physician continued to abuse 70 or more patients for more than a year after the FBI learned in 2015 that gymnasts had complained about him.
7. Have you tried to renew your passport lately? Good luck.
During the most significant travel stop in modern history, hundreds of thousands of Americans allowed their passports to expire. But appointments at passport agencies are elusive due to a huge backlog, and the processing time for renewals by mail is 10 weeks or more late. To speed things up, some travelers are buying fake tickets to the cheapest place outside the country as proof of impending travel.
Need inspiration to travel? We asked readers to tell us about the spots that enchanted and comforted them in a dark year. Here are 52 suggestions.
8. Cannes is in full swing around “Alineâ€, an unofficial biopic of Celine Dion. Our pop culture journalist is hot.
“Just let me put that aside,†he wrote. “I am still in shock at the instantly iconic decision of the film’s actress-director, Valérie Lemercier, 57, to play Celine Dion at all ages of her life,” including as a 5 year old child. The movie is like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” he writes, “if they shrunk Rami Malek and made him play his own teeth.”
It also breaks down a nine-minute standing ovation for “The French Dispatch” by Wes Anderson and a new drama about lesbian nuns from the director of “Showgirls.”
9. Among entomologists, the urinary powers of frogs are well known. But the insects’ suction capabilities turned out to be much more impressive.
The Froghopper, approximately the size of a Tic Tac, urinates almost constantly, using a catapult that diverts its waste into the air. It also has an extraordinarily strong diaphragm in a nose-like structure, like “a huge bicep” on its head, which it uses to suck sap from the nutrient-poor xylem. In short: if a frog jumper was perched at the top of the torch of the Statue of Liberty, he could suck liquid through a straw of a glass placed on the ground.
In other outdoor activities, our garden expert offers a beginner’s guide to tomato pests, diseases and disorders.
10. And finally, how to get back to sleep.
It is normal to wake up several times during the night as the brain goes through different stages of deeper and lighter sleep. Age can play a role and most people have no trouble falling back to sleep. But if you find yourself rolling over and over at least three times a week for a period of at least three months, it could be chronic insomnia.
If you’ve been awake for 25 minutes or more, sleep experts advise you to get out of bed and do some calm activity that soothes your mind. Gentle stretching, breathing exercises, or reading in the dark can help. (Don’t read your phone.) When you start to feel tired, go back to bed. The next day, implement this routine to adjust your sleep hygiene habits.
Sweet dreams.
Lance stand photos compiled for this briefing.
Your evening briefing is posted at 6 p.m. EST.
Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here.
What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com.
here is the mini-crosswords of the day and Spelling. If you are in the mood to play more, find all our games here.
[ad_2]
